The present invention relates to a windshield wiper assembly having multiple separately activated wiper strips.
Windshield wipers generally consist of a metallic portion which carries a wiper strip generally made of a resilient material such as rubber and the like. The metallic portion is attached to a wiper rod which connects to a control inside the vehicle for activating the wiper and cause it to move so that the strip which is in contact with the windshield will oscillate and clear the windshield from rain, snow, dirt and the like.
Reportedly, 20 percent of all vehicle accidents result from impaired vision caused by dirty and/or damp windshields. It has been estimated by the industry that 50 percent of the windshield wiper strips on operational vehicles are beyond their functional life span. In general, wiper strips should be inspected every six months and replaced as soon as they diminish windshield visibility. Vehicle manufacturers typically recommend replacing strips every 6 to 12 months; in fact, wiper strips are such vital safety components that many European countries have laws that require replacing them every 12 months.
In the United States, while almost all states require vehicle inspections, there is seldom any serious testing as to the suitable operability of windshield wiper strips. In addition, most vehicle owners only notice that strips need to be replaced when they are already in a hazardous situation requiring new blades, i.e., during thunderstorms, snow storms, foggy days and nights, and the like. Few people, if any, have replacement strips or blades available at such times. Further, few, if any, have the knowledge and/or tools that may be required to replace the wiper or strip.
The problem is made worse by the fact that people are often far from their homes when such emergencies occur and do not know where to find a store carrying replacement parts. Often they occur at times when stores having replacement blades are not open. While garages may be open, most do not carry full lines of replacement blades or strips for every vehicle. For example, for most passenger cars, the blade length varies between 16 and 28 inches; and some newer vehicles have different length blades on each side of the windshield. In short, replacing the wiper blades or strips may not be possible in hazardous situations because of the impossibility of getting a replacement at that time.
While there have been many efforts to improve the performance of wiper strips, the fact remains that every wiper strip will, over time, become non-functional and need replacement.
The present invention overcomes the problems of the prior art by providing wiper blade assemblies having multiple wiper strips that are individually selectable to clear the windshield. A new wiper strip can be put into an operative position in contact with the windshield without removing the non-functional wiper strip or replacing the metallic portion carrying the strip. Thus, a vehicle operator who is faced with a situation requiring a new wiper strip can, as described more fully below, simply disengage the active wiper strip and engage a new wiper strip that already exists on the windshield wiper assembly.